Women of Nder

In Senegal which used to be a French dominion and which even served as the capital of all west African colonies during the French occupation (the current palace of the different Senegalese presidents since independence was the ones of the French governors in those days), we have many historical heroes who are worth retaining our attention.

From Lat Dior Ngoné Latyr Diop, The Damel (king) of Cayor (now the region of Thies) who is officially considered as the Senegalese national hero to Aline Sitoe Diatta who is nicknamed as the iron-lady of Kabrousse in Casamance (south of Senegal) through famous or notorious religious figures like Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba, the founder of Touba and of the Mouride community (a pilgrimage called Magal is organized in Touba every year to pay him tribute or Elhadji Malick Sy, the founder of Tidjania (the same holds true for him) to name but a few, Senegal in its historical repertoire has a great number of great people who are still sources of inspiration for the young generation.

However, after discussion with Mister Sakho, who drove us into consensus, we have finally agreed on choosing the women of Nder as our heroes though they are not well-known in historical books.

Nder before the arrival of the French colonizers was a land of farmers and cattle breeders. Now it is known as Walo and belongs to the region of Saint Louis which used to be the first capital of Senegal before Dakar (the current capital). In those days Nder was ruled by the brack (king) of Walo. Walo still refers to the department of Dagana.

Nder is separated from the Islamic republic of Mauritania by a river. Unlike the people of Nder who lived on agriculture and on cattle breeding, the neighbouring Mauritanians were keen on enslaving people. They regularly crossed the separating river for razzia (violent stealing). They assaulted young boys and girls, raped women before diving them by force as slaves for their king. In those days, white Mauritanians were under the yoke of the traza (king). Many black Mauritanians who live there have their origins in Senegal because of this. Even now white Mauritanians still consider their black counterparts as inferior people and even slaves.

One Tuesday in Nder, all men went as usual to their fields leaving their wives at home for the household activities. Realizing this, the slave-oriented Mauritania crossed the river to steal them as they were accustomed. They equipped themselves with any fearful warring armada (machetes, swords, arrows) etc to enslave the women.

When they arrived in the vicinity of Nder, one of the women who was washing in the yard caught sight of them. She quickly fled to alert the others.

Since they had no weapons and no man to defend them against this invasion, they decided under the leadership of Ndatté Yalla to gather in one hut, pour petrol on it and set fire to them instead of being humiliated in the absence of their husbands. They did it without hesitation leaving the invaders open-mouthed.

The reasons for our choosing the women of Nder as our heroes are that they convey a vibrant message beyond their collective suicide. That is physical and material impotence is not a valid motive to surrender to fatality. As young learners, we would like the African presidents who have been begging money from developed nations since Independence Day to realize that it is useless to use past traumatisms like slavery and colonialism to justify their lack of hardworking spirit. As Mister Sakho has taught us, self-confidence and self-reliance are gateways to success and the examples of Japan after Hiroshima and Nagasaki and more significantly the United States of America with her founding fathers who tamed the hostile desert and living conditions to erect United States of America about the mess of dependence illustrate this eloquently.

As young learners who are going to be the future leaders of Senegal and even of Africa, we do believe that we can draw much moral energy from what the women of Nder did in the far past to secure their dignity and honour instead of accusing others.